#Stately: Popular Children’s Character Returns: State Re-introduces "Recycling Ben"

by Lane Krakowski
September 27, 2006

It's been many years since the grating voice of Benjamin S. Bear graced television airwaves but now, in an effort to educate state employees about the environmental benefits of recycling, the state is kicking off a campaign series involving the beloved children's icon.

"We think it's a really keen idea. Benjamin Simus Bear's songs and stories still evoke strong nostalgia among those who grew up watching him on channel 8 and listening to him on the radio,” said Gerry Heffenbecker, Deputy Commissioner of the State Ecological and Conservational Resource Commission. We hope all employees heed Ben’s message and learn about making the environment an even better place."

The ECRC spearheads the $100,000 campaign to better educate employees on how and where everyday office items can be recycled and how to translate this behavior to the home. In the first months of the New Year, employees will receive emails about the first round of changes, which are to include additional and more vibrant-colored recycling containers in all state offices, a public pick-up schedule, planned tours of whatever facility is contracted to actually do the recycling, and – what Heffenbecker calls most important – online training tools.

"Too often I hear from employees that they don't know what get recycled. Often the phrase 'Does it Tear?' is used, meaning if you rip an item in half then we recycle it. But people still throw away cardboard pizza boxes and kid meal boxes from restaurants; glass state-issued holiday keepsake ornaments, which this year will feature the state capitol; and plastic recognition plaques – we want to put a stop to all that and keep it out of the landfills."

Current radio ads running throughout the state feature Recycling Ben singing "Cleaning You, Cleaning Me," helping to remind all employees that now is the time to invest in the earth's future and enroll in good ecological behaviors.

The song is one of over 100 songs written by the Reverend Alistair McCarver, who first brought Benjamin Bear to life on a daily radio program during the 1940s. McCarver later adapted the radio program for television in the early 1950s, making Benjamin the main character on the long-running afternoon children's program, "Grin and Bear it." Of all the numerous children's programming of the era, McCarver's program was one of the few to focus on a specific social theme, encouraging children to not only Benjamin's home in the Fun Time Family Forest but all the earth's forests, deserts and oceans. McCarver died in 1983.